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Sunday 5 August 2001

In Correspondents Report, the ABC's overseas reporters give their interpretation and analyses of the week's major events, and offer perceptive observations about the countries and regions in which they're based. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

The Hague's genocide conviction

Last week, the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague handed down its toughest sentence yet and its first conviction for genocide, the first time the court has definitively linked that word with the Bosnian war. A former Bosnian Serb general, Radislav Krstic, was gaoled for 46 years for his role in the murder of almost 8 thousand Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in 1995. As our Europe correspondent, Michael Brissenden reports, the conviction was a victory for justice and for the court itself.

Northern Ireland peace protest

Northern Ireland's fragile peace process faces another crucial test next week, with the British and Irish governments calling on the province's ever-squabbling political parties to agree to a new package of proposals. But the atmosphere of calm contemplation which both governments were trying to encourage was shattered by a massive car bomb blast in West London, believed to be the work of the so-called Real Irish Republican Army.

Missile timing

In the three days since Israeli helicopter pilots fired missiles into an office block in Nablus with the aim of killing the leadership of the radical Hamas movement there, Israel's Government has battled to justify its actions. Critics inside Israel point to the fact there hasn't been a fatal bomb attack against Israelis for two months, suggesting the Hamas movement was being constrained by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

Megawati doubts

In Indonesia, there are already serious doubts being raised about the new presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri. Installed two weeks ago, the new leader, has so far revealed little about her plans for the country and she has failed to name a cabinet, although promising to do so quickly. There are widely published fears that democratic reform will slow down under Megawati, that corruption could go unpunished, and even that the new leader is a puppet president beholden to both the military and the conservative forces of the former authoritarian rule, President Suharto.

Stock rort party over

When the US share market was booming, it didn't take much to get investors to part with their money, and every major broking house was happy to provide the needed incentive. But now the party is over and some of those investors who were burnt are wondering why they weren't warned. In fact, some are attempting to launch a class action against one leading Wall St analyst who was famous for her bullish views on the market.